Ch.182Union Academy – 3

Kraaaah!―

“Hup!”

The A-grade ability user at the front swings his sword with a battle cry.

Following him, someone from the Martial Arts Class delivers a kick that brings the boss down.

It’s not dead yet. At best, it’s subdued or knocked unconscious.

Knowing this, a Magic Class user waiting in the rear immediately casts a spell.

“Lightning!―”

A chain of lightning strikes the dungeon boss monster directly.

Sparks fly everywhere and the smell of burning flesh reverberates through the air.

The boss roars in resistance, but these people aren’t just going to stand by and watch.

“Finish it off!”

Everyone who had been waiting rushes in at once.

No matter how much stronger it’s become due to the Great Cataclysm, this is too much for it.

If anything, it’s impressive that it held out this long against this many people.

Guuuu―

With a dying breath, the giant snake collapses.

The ability users, who had remained tense until the end, finally let out cheers when their leader confirmed it was over.

“Woooah!”

“Shit, that was tough as hell!”

Everyone sits down, breathing heavily.

And of course, they add complaints about the now-dead boss.

“This is insane. How did the Giant Serpent become such a difficult opponent?”

“Not long ago, half this number would have been enough to take it down…”

There are eight A-grade ability users who entered this dungeon.

Including me, who came in as a precaution, that makes nine.

All these people entered to subjugate an A-grade dungeon.

In the past, this would have been criticized as a waste of manpower.

But not anymore. If anything, it might not be enough.

“Thank you for your hard work, Seojin Baek.”

While the team members are resting, the leader approaches and offers a handshake.

I feel a bit embarrassed and find myself smiling without realizing it.

“Hard work? I didn’t do anything. I just followed from a distance.”

“You had to watch A-grade ability users struggling against an A-grade monster. How frustrating that must have been for you. That’s hard work in its own way, isn’t it?”

Well, I don’t know about others, but that boss monster wasn’t an ordinary A-grade level.

It was somewhere between A-grade and S-grade. Hmm, about A+ level?

Fighting something like that, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, they did well.

“Not at all. That boss monster just now wasn’t an ordinary A-grade. You all fought extremely well. It’s impressive that there weren’t any serious injuries.”

“Hearing you say that gives us strength. Actually, we’ve had several serious injuries recently, and the team members have been getting anxious. This means things are improving, doesn’t it?”

What followed was the same routine as always.

Recovering the boss monster’s corpse, confirming the dungeon was cleared.

Treating minor wounds before heading outside and sighing with relief.

Glancing around, unfortunately, it seems only our team avoided serious injuries.

Support Class members who were waiting rush quickly somewhere.

Each team has an ability user responsible for healing, but emergency treatment has its limits.

They can’t pour magic power into just one person, and if they’ve been in such intense battles,

Chances are the Support Class members have also run out of magic power during the dungeon raid.

“Looks like there are serious injuries over there.”

“Yes. Well, at least it seems Jiyoon Han provided good backup.”

Not every A-grade team can have an S-grade on standby.

So I was assigned to one of the higher-tier A-grade dungeons.

Today, Jiyoon Han and I were on rotation, and it seems her team had a tougher time.

“Is it over, Seojin?”

While I was checking on the other teams, Jiyoon Han approached.

Her expression isn’t particularly bright, suggesting various issues inside.

“Yes. You worked hard, Jiyoon.”

“Hard work? Well, I was fine, but I’m worried about the team assigned to that dungeon.”

“It looks like there are some serious injuries.”

Jiyoon Han nodded and sighed.

As I thought, the Great Cataclysm situation in that dungeon was more serious.

No wonder the casualty rate among ability users is rapidly increasing, not just in Korea but in other countries too.

“If I hadn’t stepped in, there might not have been injured people but casualties instead.”

“I remember that team’s level being quite good.”

“That’s right. The problem wasn’t our side’s level, but that the enemy’s level was too high.”

“Almost comparable to S-grade—” Jiyoon sighed again.

She seemed frustrated that you never know when or how an A-grade might change.

“Well, everyone’s training hard whenever they get the chance. Things should improve.”

“I’m sure they will. These aren’t people who got here by luck, so they’ll manage.”

In any case, they’re all people who pull their own weight. So I’m not worried.

I’m busy enough looking after those who struggle to contribute even half their share.

“By the way, have you heard the news?”

“What news?”

“About the World Alliance Academy. There’s been some talk about it.”

First Minseong Kang, then Hakjun Ma, and now Jiyoon Han is talking about it too.

“If you mean that, I heard about it recently from the Dean and the Chairman.”

“I thought so.”

Jiyoon Han nodded, saying she expected as much.

The task of developing ability users rather than just dealing with monsters or villains.

Apparently, I’m more reliable than anyone else when it comes to that.

“What do you think about it?”

“I view it positively. Faculty and students selected from each country, plus training instructors and security personnel stationed there. Those who develop there return to their countries and train the next generation. If this cycle continues, things should improve.”

“You’ve got it exactly right. That’s why everyone seems to be in favor of it.”

The Alliance Academy doesn’t hold much significance by itself.

At most, it’s just sending selected ability users from each country.

But after those people grow excellently and return to their home countries,

If they pass on what they’ve seen, heard, and experienced to their juniors,

It will definitely have some kind of positive impact.

“It would be perfect if you went there, Seojin.”

“If there’s a position for an arbiter.”

“Aren’t you too fixated on that position? What about being a professor or instructor?”

“I’m not really interested in teaching the same people continuously.”

“Ah.”

Jiyoon Han nods as if she understands.

Actually, it’s because of my characteristics that I’d rather not be a professor or instructor.

But right now, it’s better to say I’m not particularly interested in either position.

“Then something like an arbiter and instructor combined would work, right?”

“If possible. If possible.”

As I was saying this, something suddenly occurred to me.

“But isn’t it too early to be talking about this?”

The establishment of the Alliance Academy is certainly good news.

But according to Minseong Kang and Hakjun Ma, they’ve only just started discussing it?

“Huh?”

But Jiyoon Han looks rather surprised.

“What? Seojin, you didn’t know?”

What is she talking about? What don’t I know?

“Rina Lee.”

“Rina?”

Why is Rina suddenly being mentioned here?

“She’s been using portals like they’re her own home, traveling to different countries for days now.”

“Why suddenly?”

“From what I’ve heard from S-grades in various countries, she’s been strongly advocating for the Alliance Academy to their leadership.”

“…Huh?”

This was surprising news. Why is Rina doing such things?

“And Chairman Kang’s granddaughter, Soohyun Kim? She’s been following along, meeting with Chairman Kang’s disciples and holding meetings. Also about the Alliance Academy, from what I understand.”

Even Soohyun too? What on earth are these two up to—

“…Ah.”

I recalled the conversation between Soohyun and Rina from a while back.

If the Alliance Academy plan really takes shape, they insisted the location must be in Korea.

At the time, I thought they were joking and just let it go.

There wasn’t even an official mention of the plan, let alone actual planning.

I had no idea they’d be running around stirring things up already!

“As you know, Chairman Kang has quite a network. His love for family is well-known. If his granddaughter moves like this, his disciples will think it’s the chairman’s will and take it seriously. And those people are influential in both ability user circles and political circles.”

No wonder Soohyun has seemed quite busy these past few days.

I thought it was because the Bronze students weren’t listening to her.

After hearing Jiyoon’s explanation, I realize she’s been running around working on this!

“As for Rina… sigh. That crazy one. Wherever she goes, everyone goes into alert mode. They worry about how much damage she might cause. She’s so unpredictable that even other S-grades avoid conflicts with her. When someone like that comes demanding something, who would say ‘no’ unless they’re crazy themselves?”

I could freshly appreciate how much Rina cares about me.

She shows a relatively well-behaved side in front of me, but her reputation outside remains the same.

“Anyway, wait a bit longer. I’m sure you’ll hear news soon.”

I thought the “bit longer” Jiyoon Han mentioned would take at least a month or two.

[This morning, leaders from countries around the world simultaneously issued statements. To face the current Great Cataclysm, not limited to individual nations, but uniting the world to create one massive and perfect educational institution…]

[A place to share know-how from each country and exchange information about dungeons and monsters…]

“…”

I didn’t expect that “bit longer” would be less than a week.

[According to what’s known so far, Korea is the likely location for the Alliance Academy…]

I had to hold my forehead, thinking of Soohyun and Rina who had successfully accomplished their goal.

Wow. How much am I going to have to pay those two in return?